


A Shot in the Dark (A Text in the Night)

by orphan_account



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 11:37:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18827917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Nate sends out an SOS text, he is expecting advice or support from his friends.But he's known them long enough that he should have known better.





	A Shot in the Dark (A Text in the Night)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a complete work of fiction, and I make no profit for it.
> 
> Set after the Avs elimination from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. 
> 
> There is a video floating around with just Nate and Cale at a Nuggets game. I blame that video for this fic.

**The Four Musketeers**

NateDogg (1:36AM)  
Guys, I slept with the rookie.  
Shit.

NateDogg (10:13AM)  
Hey assholes, I really need you to answer.  
Seriously, this isn’t a joke.  
SOS or what the fuck ever.

NateDogg (10:15AM)  
I swear to god, guys. Answer.  
He’s still asleep, but he’s probably gonna wake up soon, and I’m like 63% sure that if you don’t answer before he does, we’re gonna do it again.

NateDogg (10:18AM)  
Make that 86%.  
Why the hell aren’t you answering?

NateDogg (10:20AM)  
You fucking dicks. I’m two seconds away from waking this kid up with the best rimjob of his life.  
Answer me.

TBeauts (11:12AM)  
Nathan MacKinnon, you fucking animal.  
Was it good?

GabetheBabe (11:15AM)  
What the fuck.  
You’re joking right?

HorseGirl (11:16AM)  
You know, if we hadn’t already agreed that this text would be fine-free, I would get you so hard for telling us what you’re doing with your sexual partners.

GabetheBabe (11:16AM)  
This is a joke, isn’t it?  
Nathan.  
Answer us.

TBeauts (11:17AM)  
Can’t. He’s too busy rimming the rookie.

GabetheBabe (11:18AM)  
This isn’t funny, Tyson.  
Don’t make jokes. Those are our teammates.

HorseGirl (11:19AM)  
Yeah, but they’re definitely swinging for the other team right now, eh? (winking emoji)

TBeauts (11:20AM)  
Is that the real reason you shaved?  
Didn’t want to give the poor kid any beard burn?

GabetheBabe (11:21AM)  
What the fuck, Tys.  
You can’t just ask stuff like that.

HorseGirl (11:21AM)  
I don’t know. He makes a good point.  
Nate’s been hot for the rookie since that first goal.  
He’s probably been planning how to get in his pants from day one.

TBeauts (11:22AM)  
#cradlerobber (baby emoji)

GabetheBabe (11:22AM)  
Stop making jokes, you assholes.  
This is serious.  
Anyways, the rookie isn’t a real rookie. He was drafted two years ago; he’s just been at university.

TBeauts (11:24AM)  
Good, so he’s definitely legal.

HorseGirl (11:25AM)  
Yeah, but he still looks young.  
Hey.  
Maybe that’s a thing for Nate.  
That jailbait, tho. (prison cell emoji)

GabetheBabe (11:27AM)  
Shut the fuck up.  
Neither of you are helping anything, and Nate isn’t answering anyways.  
There’s nothing we can do until he texts back.

TBeauts (11:29AM)  
That’ll probably be a while.  
Nate likes to take his time.

HorseGirl (11:30AM)  
How do you know that…

TBeauts (11:31AM)  
Some of us are mature adults who can talk about what we like doing in bed without acting like five year-olds.

HorseGirl (11:33AM)  
Who are you talking about?  
Because you’re definitely not talking about yourself.

TBeauts (11:34AM)  
Oooooo, sick burn.

GabetheBabe (11:34AM)  
I’m going back to sleep.

NateDogg (4:42PM)  
You all suck.

HorseGirl (4:45PM)  
Not as much as you do, Nateyboy.  
Or should I say…  
Naughty boy?

NateDogg (4:46PM)  
You’re a dick.

HorseGirl (4:46PM)  
But apparently you like that dick.

GabetheBabe (4:47PM)  
EJ, stop.  
The time for jokes has passed.  
Nate sent out an SOS text this morning, and we failed in our duties as brothers to respond to that.  
We are now in damage control, so don’t be stupid.

HorseGirl (4:49PM)  
Fuck you  
…but you’re right.  
SOS texts are more important than jokes.  
I am prepared to offer my service to help a brother out.  
But not like the rookie’s helped you out. That’s not my thing.

NateDogg (4:52PM)  
Fuck off. Wouldn’t want you anyways.

TBeauts (4:53PM)  
No, but you apparently want the rookie.

HorseGirl (4:55PM)  
What? Nothing to say for yourself, Nathan?

GabetheBabe (4:55PM)  
Nate? You good?

TBeauts (4:57PM)  
Oh shit.  
OH SHIT.  
You do have a thing for the rookie, don’t you?

HorseGirl (4:58PM)  
Called it.

TBeauts (4:58PM)  
Omfg. What the fuck.  
EJ was right.  
Holy fucking fuck.  
Dude.  
Duuuuuuuuude.

GabetheBabe (4:59PM)  
Nathan, is this true?

TBeauts (4:59PM)  
The rookie? Cale? Our vegetable friend?  
What the fuck, man?????

HorseGirl (5:00PM)  
What is it?  
The hockey skills?  
The college education?

TBeauts (5:01PM)  
The young looks.

HorseGirl (5:01PM)  
THE YOUNG LOOKS.

NateDogg (5:02PM)  
Shut up.

TBeauts (5:03PM)  
Dude, I’m dying over here.  
Just tell us what’s up.

GabetheBabe (5:04PM)  
We are here for you, Nate.  
No matter what.

HorseGirl (5:08PM)  
Nate?

TBeauts (5:09PM)  
Nathan Raymond MacKinnon.

NateDogg (5:10PM)  
No fines, right?

GabetheBabe (5:11PM)  
Of course not.  
That’s like the cardinal rule of this chat.

TBeauts (5:12PM)  
No way.  
No fines.  
Not about this.

HorseGirl (5:13PM)  
The sacred pact of the Four Musketeers forbids fines, Nathan.  
That will not change today.

NateDogg (5:15PM)  
Okay.

TBeauts (5:17PM)  
Alright.  
Well, this is going nowhere.  
How about we start with some questions.

HorseGirl (5:18PM)  
Yeah!  
Like how good is the rookie in bed?

GabetheBabe (5:19PM)  
Yes, like how is Cale doing right now?

HorseGirl (5:20PM)  
Top ten?  
Have you even slept with ten other men?

GabetheBabe (5:20PM)  
Has he said anything to you about it?

HorseGirl (5:21PM)  
Or even ten other people?

TBeauts (5:21PM)  
Shut up.  
You don’t need to answer those, Nate.

GabetheBabe (5:22PM)  
No, you need to answer mine.  
Captain’s orders.

HorseGirl (5:23PM)  
You can’t pull rank here!

TBeauts (5:23PM)  
Yeah, no fair.  
No one is captain here.  
We’re all on the same level.

GabetheBabe (5:24PM)  
Right, yes.  
Sorry.  
Would you please answer my questions though?  
They’re important.

TBeauts (5:25PM)  
I’ll give him that.

HorseGirl (5:25PM)  
...fair enough.

NateDogg (5:28PM)  
He’s good.  
He went to lunch with his parents and is dropping them off at the airport.

GabetheBabe (5:29PM)  
Dropping them off???  
Did he take an uber with them or something?

TBeauts (5:30PM)  
(laughing crying emoji) Kid needs a car.

NateDogg (5:31PM)  
…he’s using mine.

HorseGirl (5:32PM)  
What the

GabetheBabe (5:32PM)  
Yours????

TBeauts (5:32PM)  
What kind of bullshit is this???  
Your car?

HorseGirl (5:33PM)  
You gonna get him a ring next? (diamond ring emoji)

GabetheBabe (5:33PM)  
That was very generous of you.

TBeauts (5:34PM)  
You fucking asshole.  
You don’t even like letting me drive your car.  
What the hell, man?  
What the fucking hell.

NateDogg (5:35PM)  
He was sad about saying goodbye to his parents.  
And I get that, so I let him take my car to drop them off.

HorseGirl (5:36PM)  
Does this mean you’re going steady?

NateDogg (5:36PM)  
Fuck off.

TBeauts (5:37PM)  
NATHAN.  
You let this child drive your car.  
The new kid.  
Who you haven’t even known for more than a few weeks.

GabetheBabe (5:38PM)  
That is a pretty generous offer.

TBeauts (5:38PM)  
You let HIM drive your car??  
What the fuck?  
What happened to friendship, man?

HorseGirl (5:39PM)  
Does bros before hos apply in this situation?  
I mean, technically, Cale is one of our bros.  
So that kind of makes this hard.

TBeauts (5:40PM)  
He’s not Nate’s bro.

NateDogg (5:41PM)  
I hate all of you.

TBeauts (5:41PM)  
Feeling’s mutual, buddy. (hand emoji)

GabetheBabe (5:42PM)  
Okay, so you lent him your car.  
Good to know you trust him.

TBeauts (5:43PM)  
More than us apparently.

NateDogg (5:44PM)  
What was I supposed to do??  
We’d literally just had sex.  
Like the sweat was still drying  
And I hadn’t even taken the condom off.

HorseGirl (5:45PM)  
Of course you’re a top.

NateDogg (5:45PM)  
And you’re an asshole.

TBeauts (5:46PM)  
So what?  
It was so good you couldn’t think straight?  
Or does this kid already have you wrapped around his fingers????  
I swear  
If you’re already whipped af, I will laugh in your face  
Then kill you for falling in love without telling me.

NateDogg (5:47PM)  
????  
It was one night.

HorseGirl (5:47PM)  
And a morning.

NateDogg (5:48PM)  
You really shouldn’t be throwing the L word around like that.  
Yes, thank you, EJ.

GabetheBabe (5:49PM)  
You have to admit though, it’s pretty crazy that you let him borrow your car.  
What are you going to do next?  
Offer to let him stay at your house?

NateDogg (5:50PM)  
…

TBeauts (5:50PM)  
Oh fuck.  
For real??  
Dude, no.  
This is bad.  
This is so bad.

HorseGirl (5:51PM)  
You told him he could stay at your place???

GabetheBabe (5:51PM)  
That’s a lot after one night.

TBeauts (5:52PM)  
Are you fucking serious?  
You’re already moving in together?

NateDogg (5:52PM)  
No!  
Well, I mean, maybe.

HorseGirl (5:53PM)  
Damn, you move fast.

NateDogg (5:53PM)  
He hasn’t given me an answer.

TBeauts (5:54PM)  
Oh my god.  
He didn’t immediately accept your proposal? (shocked face emoji)  
Rough.

HorseGirl (5:54PM)  
Very forward, Nathan.

NateDogg (5:55PM)  
Stop.

GabetheBabe (5:57PM)  
Okay, so you’ve let him borrow your car and invited him to stay at your house.  
You have also had sex with him…TWICE.

NateDogg (5:58PM)  
It was definitely more than that.

GabetheBabe (5:58PM)  
I think you should think about  
What.

TBeauts (5:58PM)  
WHAT.

HorseGirl (5:59PM)  
You dog.

TBeauts (5:59PM)  
More than that?  
What?  
Have you just been having marathon sex since last night?

HorseGirl (6:00PM)  
Get it. Get it. Get it.

GabetheBabe (6:00PM)  
Aren’t you hurt?

NateDogg (6:01PM)  
We did sleep for a while, and he had to leave to go see his parents.  
We worked around the injury.

TBeauts (6:02PM)  
What the fuck, man.  
How was the kid even able to get out of bed?

HorseGirl (6:02PM)  
( _shook me all night long_ gif)

TBeauts (6:03PM)  
Stamina, man.

GabetheBabe (6:03PM)  
So back on track.  
You seem to be moving very quickly.

HorseGirl (6:04PM)  
Like lightning.

NateDogg (6:04PM)  
We’re not dating.

TBeauts (6:04PM)  
No, you just spent the last 24 hours having tons of sex.

HorseGirl (6:05PM)  
And you let him borrow your car.

GabetheBabe (6:05PM)  
And invited him to live with you.

NateDogg (6:06PM)  
We’re not dating.

TBeauts (6:06PM)  
No, but you could be living with him soon, and that’s way more than dating.

NateDogg (6:07PM)  
What?  
People can live together without being together.

HorseGirl (6:07PM)  
Oh my god.  
You want to be friends with benefits?

GabetheBabe (6:08PM)  
Bad idea.  
BAD IDEA.  
Please don’t do that.

TBeauts (6:08PM)  
Easy access.

GabetheBabe (6:09PM)  
Not with a teammate.  
Not with anyone.

HorseGirl (6:09PM)  
Damn, you’re doing it wrong though.  
The side chick doesn’t get to borrow your car.

NateDogg (6:10PM)  
We’re not gonna be friends with benefits!

TBeauts (6:11PM)  
Ass on tap.

GabetheBabe (6:11PM)  
…  
How long did that take you?

HorseGirl (6:12PM)  
Wow, Barrie.

NateDogg (6:12PM)  
Stop.  
We’re not dating.  
We’re not gonna be friends with benefits.  
We’re not doing any of that.

TBeauts (6:13PM)  
So this was a one and done thing?  
Hit it and quit it?

GabetheBabe (6:13PM)  
If that is your plan, you’d really better handle this right.

HorseGirl (6:14PM)  
You’re just gonna drop him???

GabetheBabe (6:14PM)  
He is our teammate.  
He has a contract.  
You have a contract.  
Don’t be shitty about this.

TBeauts (6:15PM)  
Wait.

HorseGirl (6:16PM)  
What?

GabetheBabe (6:17PM)  
Tys?

HorseGirl (6:18PM)  
Bro?

TBeauts (6:18PM)  
You’re trying to sit here and tell us that you spent the majority of the past day having really great sex with our new rookie-not-rookie. So good, that when you woke up with him this morning, you did it again. And again and again.

NateDogg (6:19PM)  
Hold on.

TBeauts (6:19PM)  
No, wait.

HorseGirl  (6:21PM)  
You writing a novel over there?

TBeauts (6:22PM)  
Then after who knows how many rounds of crazy wild sex, you talked to him and realized he was so sad about his parents heading back up north that you decided to offer him your car to use for the day so he could take them to the airport himself?

NateDogg (6:23PM)  
That’s called being a good person.

TBeauts (6:23PM)  
Wait.

TBeauts (6:27PM)  
And somewhere in all of that, you also realized that he needed a place to stay because he’s now signed a contract that will keep him here for the next three years. And you, you who never lets anyone besides your parents and sister stay at your house, decided to offer this kid a place to stay?

TBeauts (6:28PM)  
Hell yeah, you’re not going to be friends with benefits.

HorseGirl (6:28PM)  
Tell him, Tys!

NateDogg (6:29PM)  
It’s not like that.

TBeauts (6:30PM)  
And hell yeah, you’re not dating this kid.  
Dude.  
You’re pretty much married.

GabetheBabe (6:30PM)  
That feels a bit dramatic.

HorseGirl (6:31PM)  
No, no.  
That’s good.  
The past couple weeks have been the courtship.  
Last night was like their honeymoon what with all the crazy marathon sex.

TBeauts (6:32PM)  
YES.

HorseGirl (6:32PM)  
Now, they’re just being all domestic, getting Cale’s stuff moved into the house.

NateDogg (6:33PM)  
This is ridiculous.

TBeauts (6:34PM)  
Yes, it is.  
Because you didn’t even invite us to the wedding!!! (crying emoji)

GabetheBabe (6:34PM)  
Normally, I would never agree with EJ.  
But that’s sound logic.

NateDogg (6:35PM)  
Wtf.  
We’re not married.

HorseGirl (6:36PM)  
But you want to be.

TBeauts (6:36PM)  
Yasssss.

NateDogg (6:37PM)  
No.

GabetheBabe (6:37PM)  
You do have to admit though  
You treat Cale very differently than any other rookie  
Or anyone else on the team.

TBeauts (6:38PM)  
Or anyone else in your life!

NateDogg (6:38PM)  
No.

HorseGirl (6:39PM)  
Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

NateDogg (6:39PM)  
Fuck off with that Shakespeare shit.

GabetheBabe (6:40PM)  
Ah, you know Shakespeare?  
Did you learn that to impress your college educated boyfriend?

TBeauts (6:41PM)  
Don’t fake smart, Nate.  
He’ll figure you out real quick.

NateDogg (6:41PM)  
Fuck off.  
I’m plenty smart.

HorseGirl (6:42PM)  
Kerf could probably tutor you.  
He went to Harvard.

NateDogg (6:43PM)  
I don’t need a tutor.  
I’m perfectly smart on my own.  
And I’m not trying to impress anyone.

TBeauts (6:44PM)  
Yeah, I mean he already got in his pants.

GabetheBabe (6:44PM)  
I can teach you everything you need to know about wooing!

HorseGirl (6:45PM)  
Sunset horseback ride in the mountains!  
Most romantic.

TBeauts (6:45PM)  
Then DQ for dessert!

GabetheBabe (6:46PM)  
Then home for second dessert! (winking emoji)

The doorbell rings, and Nate barely contains his sigh of relief, carelessly tossing his phone onto the counter as he stands. His arm is still stiff, tight from the last game, and he rolls it out as he walks towards the door, trying not to overthink everything the guys had told him.

When he opens it, he feels like he’s been transported into some stupid romcom that only EJ would watch because Cale is standing on the other side, and he’s wearing one of Nate’s shirts (his own had kind of gotten ruined the night before) and there’s a massive hickey that can just barely be seen under the shirt's collar. He’s grinning and flushed, cheeks as red as always, and Nate can’t help but think about how much more red they can be after enough exertion. His throat feels dry, and he swallows several times before he feels like he can form words again.

“Do you want to go on a date?” That…was not at all what he wanted to say, but he can’t take it back—doesn’t want to take it back—when Cale’s face lights up, smile widening and eyes shining.

“Yeah, definitely.”

Nate swallows again. “Is…uh, is now good?”

“Sure.”

“Cool, good, yeah, that’s good.”

Cale’s brow furrows, and it really shouldn’t be cute, but it is. “Do you want to go grab some shoes? Or are you planning on going someplace we can be barefoot?”

Nate blinks once, twice, before his brain comes back online. “Shoes, yeah,” he laughs, weak and breathy, “I need those. You just, you wait here,” he says, then shuts the door. Then throws himself forward to reopen it because there’s no reason for Cale to wait outside. “Sorry, sorry. You can wait in here. That was rude of me. Come in.”

Cale steps into the entry, and Nate is tempted to drag him closer and kiss him, wet and dirty, but that would be counterproductive to his apparently newfound goal to take him out on a date.

He reels back. “Just a minute. I’ll be right back. It won’t take long.”

“Okay,” Cale responds with a soft smile, and Nate scrambles towards his bedroom before he jumps the kid in his own entry.

What the fuck is he doing? What the actual fuck? He had told the guys this wouldn’t be a thing, had denied everything they said about them, yet here he is, getting ready to take Cale on a date. And how does a date with another guy even work? Do the same rules that apply to girls apply here? That had worked pretty well last night and that morning, but is a date supposed to be different? Will Cale want him to be all chivalrous, opening doors and pulling out chairs? Would that be weird? That would definitely be weird.

Nate stumbles over a pair of pants, nearly faceplanting on his carpet, and he flushes when he realizes they’re his own from last night, belt still in the loops because neither could be bothered to take it all the way off.

Holy shit, they had sex last night. They had so much sex, so so much, and _now_ Nate is asking him on a date. Shit, shit, shit. He averts his gaze from the discarded clothes and hurries back to the door, shoes untied on his feet, hoping he doesn’t look as flustered and confused as he feels.

“I’ll drive,” Cale says easily, and that shouldn’t make Nate feel calm. He doesn’t like people driving his car, never lets anyone do it, but Cale is apparently the exception because he just nods and follows him outside, locking the door behind them and realizing he needs to figure out what the hell they’re even doing for their date.


End file.
